next story

Spring-Clean Your Health (and Home!) with This Weekend To-Do List

Since you're going to spring-clean your house anyway—or at least that's the plan (I have yet to tackle my closet before the sheer volume of what's in there tackles me)—why not spring-clean your health too?

According to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), the environment of your home can negatively impact your health. Indoor air quality, water purity, and potentially dangerous toxins and chemicals can all lead to possible illness or injury.

Says Joel R. Cooper, DO, an AOA board-certified family physician practicing at 21st Century Family Medicine in Glendale, Ariz: “By setting aside a few hours one weekend this spring, we can make simple changes inside our homes—from steps to ensure we’re breathing clean air to properly disposing of expired medications—that can help lower our risk of becoming sick or injured.”

That's why the AOA suggests these tips—they're little things you can do to help make sure your health and home are well taken care of this spring.

Friday: Schedule all those appointments you’ve been putting off with your primary-care physician, specialists, and other health care professionals (like your dentist or optometrist). Make a list of the questions you've been meaning to ask about medications, vitamins and supplements, physical activity, diet, and any symptoms you have that you've been wondering about.

Saturday: Clean out your medicine cabinet; purge it of old medications (here's how to do it safely!), expired beauty products, and anything else that's been sitting in there since heaven knows when (we all have that one crusty tube of toothpaste from years ago, right?). Replace filters in any heating and cooling systems, like your furnace. Wash window screens to remove pollen and mold, and vacuum or wash curtains and window treatments.

Sunday: Head to the store to stock up on supplies and products that help ensure your house is ready for any possible health emergencies (bandages, medicines, first-aid supplies), and replenish your sunscreen stash. Get some cleaning supplies, and consider using fragrance-free plant-based versions (or even making your own cleaning products) to help minimize asthma or allergy symptoms. “It's scary to think your home could make you sick, but that can be the case, especially for those with allergies and asthma,” says Amy L. Dean, DO, a board-certified internist and environmental medicine specialist and founder of EcoLogical Internal Medicine in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Dirty air filters, pollen build-up, mold, and even certain cleaning products and air fresheners can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms. Ridding your home of those triggers can help to prevent symptoms or keep them from worsening.”